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Just How Important is April Baseball?

The Magic Johnson owned Los Angeles Dodgers are off to a 9-1 start. But how excited should the fans be? Just 3 of the last 11 World Series have featured the team with the best record in April. The positive of that is twice that team won the Series ('04, '05). The average record of the World Series teams has been a mediocre 15-11, so for those teams who are hovering around the .500 mark for now, be patient as your team has the best odds of making the World Series!

Season

WS Teams
(Winners on Top)

April Records

2011

St. Louis Cardinals

16-12

The Indians (19-8) were the best team in baseball as of May 1 2011.

Texas Rangers

16-12

2010

San Francisco Giants

14-9

The Rays (17-7) were the best team in baseabll as of May 1, 2010

Texas Rangers

12-12

2009

New York Yankees

13-10

The Cardinals (17-7) were the best team in baseball as of May 1, 2009

Philadelphia Phillies

11-10

2008

Philadelphia Phillies

16-13

The Diamondbacks (20-8) were the best team in baseball as of May 1, 2008

Tampa Bay Rays

16-12

2007

Boston Red Sox

16-9

The Brewers (17-9) were the best team in baseball as of May 1, 2007

Colorado Rockies

11-16

2006

St. Louis Cardinals

17-9

The White Sox (18-7) were the best team in baseball as of May 1, 2006

Detroit Tigers

17-9

2005

Chicago White Sox

18-7

The White Sox (18-7) were the best team in baseball as of May 1, 2006

Houston Astros

10-13

2004

Boston Red Sox

15-8

The Red Sox (15-8) were the best team in baseball as of May 1, 2004

St. Louis Cardinals

12-12

2003

Florida Marlins

15-15

The Yankees (22-6) were the best team in baseball as of May 1, 2003

New York Yankees

22-6

2002

Anaheim Angels

12-14

The Red Sox (17-7) were the best team in baseball as of May 1, 2002

San Francisco Giants

16-11

2001

Arizona Diamondbacks

14-12

The Mariners (20-6) were the best team in baseball as of May 1, 2001

New York Yankees

15-12

2000

New York Yankees

16-8

The Braves (19-6) were the best team in baseball as of May 1, 2000

New York Mets

16-11

In 2005, the Astros were just 10-16 on May 1, making them the worst April team to make the WS in the last 11 seasons. The only other teams with a losing April record to make the WS were the 2007 Colorado Rockies 11-16, and the 2002 Anaheim Angels 12-14. The Angels went on to win the World Series.

The 2010 Texas Rangers, and 2004 St. Louis Cardinals were both .500 at the end of April. They both lost the World Series.

So which month is the most important month?

On average, August has seen the most wins/month (17) out of AL and NL Champions. July has the biggest ratio of Wins/Losses with a difference of 6 (16-10). September matches the 16 win total, but only a difference of 5 (16-11). April and June averages are both 15-11, while May has a 15-12 average record.

April May June July Aug Sept

W

L

W

L

W

L

W

L

W

L

W

L

2011

16

12

17

12

12

14

12

14

16

12

17

8

16

12

14

14

14

13

17

9

17

12

16

6

2010

14

9

13

13

13

14

21

7

13

15

17

9

12

12

15

12

20

7

14

13

14

14

14

13

2009

13

10

17

11

15

11

17

10

22

6

18

9

11

10

18

10

10

16

20

7

17

10

16

14

2008

16

13

17

12

12

14

14

11

16

13

17

7

16

12

19

10

16

10

13

12

20

7

13

14

2007

16

9

20

8

13

14

16

11

16

13

15

11

11

16

14

14

14

13

15

9

14

14

21

7

2006

17

9

17

10

9

17

15

11

14

14

11

17

17

9

19

9

19

8

16

9

13

16

11

16

2005

18

7

17

11

18

7

16

10

11

16

17

12

10

13

10

19

16

9

21

7

14

14

17

11

2004

15

8

16

13

11

14

14

12

22

6

18

10

12

12

16

11

14

9

21

5

21

7

16

12

2003

15

15

11

17

17

10

16

8

15

13

17

8

22

6

11

17

19

8

14

10

17

12

18

8

2002

12

14

18

8

17

11

17

10

18

11

17

9

16

11

14

13

16

11

13

14

18

10

18

7

2001

14

12

18

10

18

9

10

16

18

11

10

10

15

12

14

10

17

10

19

9

15

14

12

6

2000

16

8

12

13

11

14

18

8

18

12

12

18

16

11

13

13

17

8

14

13

19

10

15

13

AVG

15

11

15

12

15

11

16

10

17

12

16

11

The 2004 St. Louis Cardinals were the only team to win 20 games in back to back months (July, August)

The 2011 St. Louis Cardinals, , 2006 Detroit Tigers, 2005 Houston Astros and 2000 New York Yankees were the only teams to go under .500 back to back months.

The 2006 St. Louis Cardinals, 2006 Detroit Tigers, and the 2000 New York Yankees were the only teams to go under .500 in September.

July (6) is the most common month for a team to win at least 10 more games then they lose. It has happened 5 times in September.

The 2006 Detroit Tigers (May, June), and the 2004 St. Louis Cardinals (July, August) are the only teams to go back to back months with at least 10 more wins than losses.

The 2003 New York Yankees are the only team to go 3 months in a single season, winning atleast 10 more games then they lost.

Moral of the story? Every month is just as important as the next. Games in April count just as much as games in September.